It is Board of Education Member Appreciation Month. Stratford Board Members, WE salute you for your efforts on behalf of all students, and appreciate your volunteer investment of time and effort for the good of Stratford's youth. THANK YOU!

Emily Canizalez, David Garcia, Hannah Wishart, Melanie Fajardo, Summer Williams, and Symone Good (Aniyah Roman not pictured) all were had their stories published in a book called, "Spooky Sagas" by winning a writing contest.

"Use your head...protect your noggin and wear a helmet" was the message from Matt and Ray of Rayzor's Edge Tree Services. Helmets were donated to Johnson House students who bike to school. Their generosity is truly appreciated.

We are excited to announce that on March 21, 2019, at 6:00 PM, Stratford High will be hosting a parent forum. This interactive night will provide information and answer questions about our district's 5 year Strategic Plan, that includes Mastery Based Learning, Social Emotional Learning, and Family and Community Partnerships. We will be meeting in our new cafeteria and we hope to see you all there. Please RSVP by sending an email to wattm@stratk12.org so we can have the necessary information available for you.

Johnson House 3rd-grade students want us to treat everyone with politeness and kindness, not because they are nice, but because you are. "Be kind and treat others "Like Gold" is just one way we can practice kindness."

BOOKS! BOOKS! BOOKS! We are raising money to purchase books for our students. Each year Nichols School families participate in a program called One School One Book. We purchase a book for each family and adult staff member at school, but we need more money for our growing community in order to keep this program going. We will also use the money for a family reading night in which we plan several literacy activities that tie into the book we are reading. It's a fun night that the students and families look forward to each year. Click on the link below to access our Read-a-thon website.

We have the most amazing parent community here at Franklin. Here we have a father grabbing his snowblower and shovel and cleaning out a path for our students! We are so thankful for a community of parents that are always willing to lend a hand!

Nichols' staff and students are letting their kindness show for, "Say Something Kind" Week., February 25 - March 1. Monday is, "Make a New Friend Day," Tuesday is, "Tell a Friend You Care Day," Wednesday is "Wear Your School Spirit Day," Thursday is "Thank You Day," and Friday is, "Flash Your Smile Friday." Everyone is encouraged to play with new friends, celebrate friends' favorite traits, show school spirit, thank a special someone, and smile big at everyone they see!

Charlotte's Web, the timeless story of love and friendship has been chosen as this year's One School, One Book. Please click on the link below to be redirected to the OSOB page with its reading schedule, trivia questions and guest readers.

Nichols Elementary is excited to participate in Global School Play Day this Wednesday, February 6th! Over 400,000 students from 70 Nations are register to stop everything and play. This grassroots effort is to bring awareness to the importance of unstructured play for the healthy development of our children.

SAVE THE DATE: FEBRUARY 26 - Code, calculate, design and discover a new era of innovation! Join us on Tuesday, February 26 from 6 pm – 7:30 pm for a free night of space themed fun at our First Nichols Family STEAM night. There will be hands-on activities for the entire family and raffle prizes. (Snow date is February 28.)

For students in Mrs. Cook's Kindergarten class, America is a giant gingerbread house.

Nichols' Kindergartners participated in a gingerbread people exchange that has brought them over 30 gingerbread people decorated with details of their hometowns and states from around the country.

The gingerbread people were hung up in the hallway where a Gingerbread PowerPoint presentation played nearby.

Students decorated their Connecticut gingerbread man with a UCONN hat, holding a PEZ dispenser in one hand and a Wiffle Ball in the other. There was a cheeseburger in his stomach. Other details included the state flag, state flower (Mountain Laurel) and state bird (American Robin).

Congratulations to Nichols School teachers Jennifer Cusmano and Michele Willett, recipients of a BEST mini-grant funded by the Judy O'Brien-Sheridan Scholarship Fund. Cusmano and Willett will purchase the book, I Am Peace by Susan Verde for each classroom in the school. Students and their teachers will be able to discuss the importance of deep breathing, meditation, and other strategies for coping with anger, stress or anxiety after reading the book.

Franklin 6th Grade students Summer Williams, David Garcia, Melanie Fajardo, Emily Canizalez, Aniyah Roman, Hannah Wishart, and Symone Good were chosen by Young Writers to be published for their Spooky Sagas Writing Contest winning entries.

Former NFL player, Mark Harrison, recently visited students at Nichols Elementary School for an all-school assembly. Harrison grew up in Stratford and played football at Bunnell H.S. He went on to play college football at Rutgers before being drafted by the Chicago Bears. He also played for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs. Harrison's son, Jordan, is a student at Nichols. His message to students touched on anti-bullying, setting goals, and doing well in school. He also talked about his new flag football league, FlagU starting in the Spring, 2019.

Johnson House School celebrated the book and heartfelt message of the Miss Soto's Literacy Legacy book, Painting for Peace in Ferguson. Inspired by the beautiful art messages in the book, each student shared a "peaceful" message and decorated their own leaf to be displayed on the Johnson House tree mural.